"Closer, My Darling"
Authors Note: I've been reviewing some of my previous chapters and slightly re-writing them. Nothing too large, since I don't have the patience for it, but a small re-word here, some sentence changes there, things like that. I've spent the past few days doing that, so I'm terribly sorry if you guys got alerted 350 times because of it. I'm not entirely sure if it sends notifications for chapter replacements. If it does, please let me know, and I'll try and let you know beforehand if I'll be going through and redoing the story ever so slightly so you know to ignore the next few useless notifications. I'm hoping this is where the story will start 'igniting' more or less, but I guess it all depends on the whim in which I write it. I try to write with a realistic flow, and if the interactions seem forced, I end up deleting them. That's why it takes ever so long to being any sort of actual 'interactions' between characters. That, and I suppose my personal dislike of any stories that force romance all too quickly and unrealistically. I promise I'm doing my best to maintain the realism of the characters. Sorry these chapters seem to be taking longer and longer to be posted, I'm having a difficult time writing lately and I'm not entirely sure why. This chapter in particular is sort of difficult because it's almost pure banter between two guidelineless characters. So before you ask, that's why it's "odd". It's more of a build up chapter anyways.
'Seize the darkened day, there's only Hell to pay.
And no left to see this prodigal return.
Sweet apathy's black toll, you'll mourn the traded soul.
I'll dig a deeper hole, sanctity a breath away.'
The heels of Logan's heavy treading stride echoed throughout the corridors, his authority resounding in every step. He held his his hands clenched tightly behind his back, furious and seething that he had not been alerted immediately to his sisters' arrival, mostly notably with himself. Leaving his beloved younger sister alone with Reaver was much too far out of his comfort zone, yet he had been so focused on his research and solitary confinement that he had fallen into a trance like state, awakening from it only when he was disturbed by the crippled servant knocking heavily upon the doors.
Stress weighed heavily upon his shoulders as he pushed his fingernails into the exposed flesh of his palms, leaving small, red blisters upon his skin. He ground his teeth against each other, leaving an odd sort of sensation in his mouth as it went numb with the tension. Although his face was stoic and unemotional, the remainder of his body language was rugged and tense. He did his utmost to appear regulated and calm, but on the inside, his body was flooded with panic, and even anger.
Reaver had made his intentions quite clear, and it was Logan's brotherly duty and tenant to make sure that Seraphina did not fall prey to his fiendish plans. Yet every moment that she was out of his sight remained another moment that Reaver could plant his seed of lasciviousness into her mind. There was no end to the extent of damage that Reaver could have done in his absence, this knowledge only encouraging to him to liven his pace, and in turn, the pace of the hobbling servant that accompanied him much to his seeming dislike.
Upon reaching the corridor that housed Reaver's study, he briskly passed the butler, violently shoving the door open and storming inside, ignoring the copper haired servant's stuttering protests. Logan was relieved to find his sister sitting firmly upon her own divan while Reaver was beaming pridefully near the opposite set of furniture. Although he took no contentment in the fact that she looked so unnerved, he was alleviated to find her resting upon her own self claimed space and not appearing to have been soiled by Reaver's libidinous plan. Her face lit up as he entered the room, and a small sense of relief came over him.
"Logan!" She raised herself from the chair steadily and made her way toward him. He took her hand into his immediately when she was within reaching distance, his hand clenching hers tightly.
"It's a lovely day. Walk with me, sister." Logan began to lead her out the door, turning slightly toward Reaver, sending him a threatening sideways glance. "I trust you have enough to busy yourself in our absence?"
Reaver only gave a roguish simper in response. "Oh, I should certainly hope so."
Logan ignored his facetious response, taking Seraphina's arm into his and quickly swept her to the exit. She studied Logan's austere facial expression, and sent a perplexed look back to Reaver who waggled his finger playfully at her before she was promptly pulled through the doorway by Logan before Reaver could find an excuse to accompany them.
The pair briskly walked in contemplative silence throughout the halls of the estate. Seraphina noted Logan sending shifting, distrustful glances at the workers that could occasionally be spotted throughout the halls before reaching the gardens. As she stepped outside, she noted the darkened landscape and the overcast of clouds that had taken reign over the sky. Not exactly what she would classify as a 'beautiful day'.
Once they reached the courtyard, he pulled her deep into the foliage, past rows upon rows of layered hedges and intricately trimmed bushes into what seemed to be a ivy laden wooded gazebo hidden behind several rows of lofty shrubbery. He quickly pulled her into the gazebo after surveying his surroundings discreetly, pushing her curiosity into overdrive.
"Logan, what exactly are you doing? You look insane doing that." She tugged on his shirt, leveraging him back inside the gazebo from his scouting mission.
"I don't want any of Reaver's staff to eavesdrop on us. I spent days searching the grounds for a secluded place, and I don't want it compromised." His tone was firm, yet his words had a slight nervous edge to them.
"Why the secrecy all of the sudden? Truly you don't believe that one among Reaver's men could be part of the treason?" She glanced up at him with concern.
"Partaking in sedition, absolutely not. Yet, I do believe them loyal to Reaver, if out of nothing but fear. That braggart doubles as a rather effective control freak, and allows us not a moment to ourselves. When he does allow us private conversation, I have no doubt that he intends to know of what we speak." His eyes shifted uncomfortably.
"I couldn't agree further, but what exactly does it matter? Yes, it's invasive, but nothing more than a nuisance." She shrugged.
"Never underestimate your opponent." He stood, walking toward the edges of the pavilion and staring bleakly out into the shrouded garden.
"Opponent? I dislike him intensely, as much as anyone with so much as a sliver of a conscience, but I feel like 'opponent' is a tad of an overstatement. Surely you don't believe that he conspires against us. He might be an insatiable prick, but treacherous?" She paused after her words, contemplating them. "Eh, upon second thought..."
"I don't believe he is partaking in the plot against me, but I do believe that he has an agenda of his own. He had made that all too clear to me." Logan's lip twitched with distaste.
"What do you mean he made it all too clear?" She eyed him skeptically. "Are you hiding something from me?"
"It matters not." He turned his fixation from the surrounding umbrage and back to her, quickly shifting the subject. "What was discussed in my absence?"
Seraphina eyeballed him for a moment, contemplating pushing the issue, but decided against it, realizing how weary she was of pursuing evasive conversation at this point. Instead, she decided to hopefully lead by example and be completely open with Logan with his own inquiries, or as open as possible considering what had just taken place.
"Reaver and I came to another 'agreement." She spoke lightly. For a moment, she could have sworn she saw the slightest hint of panic in his eyes.
"What might this agreement consist of?" Logan anxiously bit his tongue, doing his best to hide his anxiety.
"Well, that's where things become sort of... complicated." Her words didn't give him any comfort and he cringed slightly as she spoke them. "The good news is that you won't need to take shelter here for much longer. Reaver has offered to build on some property he owns and have it guarded until the issue at hand can be dealt with. Luckily, it's in the Silverpines and as far away as physically possible from this manor as you can get without entering the city or the mountains."
"The Silverpines? I feel that it might be more dangerous to relocate there than to just walk openly on the streets." He scoffed. "Surely you know about the foul sort of infestation that openly plagues those woods."
"Yes, well, that's another thing." She paused momentarily, pondering how to break the news delicately. "The balverines are the guards." Just as she had expected, he stopped short on his heels, a look of complete stupefaction plastered on his face. She placed her hand up, as if trying to calm him and even vicariously shift responsibility. "Hey, I don't know how he does it. He's had a treaty with the creatures for at least two years now. I noticed it when I broke into his secret society meeting during the rebellion. I assume he was planning on developing Silverpine and needed to ensure that his workers and buildings wouldn't be destroyed by them, so instead he enlisted their services."
Logan scowled, running his fingers up the side of his temples. "You're telling me that I am to be moved to Silverpines on Reaver's property, guarded by Reaver's balverines, at Reaver's discretion? There is absolutely no escaping the man. Regardless, that's not what worries me." He let out a heavy sigh. "At what cost is this coming at?"
Seraphina made a squeamish, uncomfortable face. This is where things would become difficult. "You see... He, um... Well, good news is he didn't ask for any sort of monetary compensation." She gave him a small, cheeky smile in a seeming attempt to disarm the conversation. Logan didn't seem to be buying in on it.
"I assume your hesitation to tell me is an ill omen." Logan arched his brow, giving a slight scowl. Something about Logan's facial expressions reminded her of her father's face when he used to scold her, inevitably seeing through her fibs. It gave her a slight, guilty tingling in her stomach.
"Well, not entirely awful I guess. I mean, it sounds bad, but it's really more of a title than anything." Proper speech failed her, and she stuttered and stumbled across the sentence. She bit her lip and stared down at her feet, avoiding his eagle eye glare. Conversations like this with Logan always had a way of making her feel like a child being reprimanded by her parents. She laced her hands nervously behind her back, waiting for him to speak.
"That doesn't tell me much. What it does tell me, however, is that you're avoiding this for a reason." He narrowed his eyes at her. "What did you promise Reaver?" Seraphina had run out of stalling time, and had no choice now but to relinquish the details, although she felt more apprehensive than she felt she realistically should have been. Logan tended to have that effect on people, especially his fledgling sister.
"Well, all I really authorized was a title." She gave him a half-hearted smile, hoping that he would drop the subject, but his stare didn't relent. "Okay, okay... He sort of... might have wanted to be royal adviser." She spit the words out quickly, the pitch of her voice synonymously rising with the expansion of Logan's eyelids.
"You authorized this?" His voice was harsh and low, his face turning a subtle hue of crimson.
"It's okay! It's fine! An adviser has no real power unless I so grant it. All he really wanted was an official title. You know how egotistical he is. He wants everyone else to think he's as important as he thinks he is." She did her best to justify her decision. Logan, once again, didn't seem convinced.
"Sera, a week ago you would not have ever considered making him a part of the royal court, but today you made it official. It's not the role of adviser that worries me. It's the fact that to him, this was just a trial run to see what he could get you to agree to." Logan could feel his heart racing in his chest. Reaver was gaining power over his sister, and it was all his fault. It was only a matter of time before Reaver demanded something a little more personal from her to protect him. "Tell him the deal is off. I'm taking my leave tonight." Logan turned and stormed out of the gazebo, leaving his sister in a temporary confused daze. He felt light droplets of rain begin to hit his face as he left the cover of the pavilion.
"Logan, what in Avo's name are you talking about?" She raced after him, shaking off her disorientation. She grabbed his sleeve, pulling him back toward her. "I am doing this for you! Reaver is only a mere hindrance! Once we get this affair settled, you'll never have to see or speak with him again, and you'll be safe." She shook him by the helms of his sleeves.
He looked down into her eyes, his darkened cerulean eyes meeting her light ones. "It isn't myself I am worried about." He let his words sink in.
"I can take care of myself, Logan." Her voice was showing hints of anger now. "Reaver is bound to blow it, and then I'll boot him back to his former position. It shouldn't even matter."
"You don't understand how Reaver operates! The Industrial Quarter ran perfectly fine until he took over, but after he took control, he became absolutely irreplaceable. He makes himself the most important factor in absolutely anything he does, and if you don't think he'll do the same with the position you give him, you are sorely mistaken. It's a risk I cannot take!" Logan's voice was venomous.
"A risk? A risk for what?! The kingdom? The treasury? The morale of the people? What risk, Logan? By all means, enlighten me!" Seraphina was yelling now and her hands were up in he air at her sides, frustration welling in her gut and wrenching at her insides.
It was Logan this time that looked down at the ground in defeat. "A risk for you." His hands were balled tightly into fists at his sides as he swallowed back his pride. Seraphina's features softened slightly, and she waited a few moments before she spoke again.
"Logan, I assure you, you needn't worry about me." She placed her hand gently on his back. "I know what kind of a man I am dealing with, and I have no intentions of letting him get into my head. Right now, the most important thing is keeping you safe. I can hold Reaver to his word long enough for him to hold up his end of the deal. Crossing me would be a grave mistake. Who's foolish enough to cross the Queen of Albion?" She joked, a seeming failed attempt to lighten the mood.
"The only person who has the resources to do so." He sighed, kicking at the moist dirt between his feet.
"Logan," She lightly smacked his face, surprising him as he looked down at her with a quizzical expression. "I promise you, I can take care of myself." She offered him a sincere smile, and he did his best to return it, although he wasn't wholeheartedly convinced. She was a stubborn young lass with bullheadedness to match his own, and no matter of arguing with her would ever change it. He would simply have to wait out the storm, not to mention, guard over it.
"It's not that I don't believe that you can. I just worry. I mean, you're a beautiful, blossoming young woman, and Reaver is a well known deviant an-" Logan was cut off by Seraphina placing her hand up, guarding her face as it turned a blushing red.
"Oh by Avo, Logan, no. We're not going there." She shook her head vigorously. "Reaver will flirt with, dance with, and breed with anything that moves. If you think I'm unique to that situation, you're out of your mind." She laughed in spite of herself.
"I don't deny what you say, but there's something different about you to him." Reaver's words echoed in Logan's mind as they had many times before. Seraphina gave a chortle of laughter again.
"Perhaps that I rule a kingdom? That I am the only female in the continent with any manner of power to match and overthrow his own? I have no doubt that he'd take great pride in saying that he tamed the shrew that is the great leader of Albion, but it will remain a fantasy and nothing more. When you're a Queen, you get used to the sleazy advances of people who long for a taste of power." As she finished her sentence, Logan shot her a questioning look, and it donned upon her exactly who she was talking to. "Oh, yeah... That's right." She paused, suppressing laughter. "Then you know exactly what I mean."
"I suppose you're right." He shook his head at her distasteful jokes, concealing a small smile. "Still, I don't like any matter of this situation."
"Don't worry about it, Logan. I will deal with it, and soon all of this will be over." She placed her hand to her chin, recalling her previous conversation with Reaver. "But that does remind me, I have a sort of odd question for you." Logan raised his eyebrows at her in response. "Just how far back do you recall Reaver at the castle?"
"I suppose I remember him most from around the time of my coronation, but..." He arched his brow, his face scrunched in deep thought. "It is entirely possible that he was around before then. I've never much thought about it before now. Until I was sworn in, I never much paid attention to those who attended court. Father always kept me away from the nobility of Albion. Why would you ask such a peculiar question?"
"He's been making some strange commentary lately. Commentary that insinuates that he remembers us as children, and was even around for longer than that. I guess it could just be nothing, but I thought it was worth looking into." She hesitated before speaking again. "He told me a story from when I was young that he claimed to have witnessed. Something about my ballroom lessons and dancing with me as child. I suppose it could be utter nonsense."
A small spark lit in Logan's eyes. "Wait... I recall something like that." He closed his eyes, doing his best to recount it. "I was speaking with father in his study when your dance instructor entered in a flurry with Reaver in tow." He placed his knuckles to his temples.
"Brave man, he must've been. Who would have thought from a dance instructor." She thought back on Reaver's trigger happy tendencies.
"Reaver didn't become quite so openly amoral until he took over industry. He wasn't exactly in a place to be, as he wasn't above the law until he owned a large chunk of it." Logan regretfully stirred back on his mistake. "I was quite young when it happened, but I do remember the two bickering. Father did nothing but laugh it off and make a comment about the petty squabbles of nobility before sending them off, but that's all I truly remember."
"There's one more thing." Her voice grew quiet. "He claimed to be an associate of mother... The Hero Queen Sparrow."
Logan shook his head firmly. "No, no I don't believe that. Not only would she never have associated with a man of Reaver's 'caliber', but to have known mother in her glory days, that would make him at the very least as old as she would have been, and it's impossible that he's more than 10 years older than myself with his particular aestetics." He pondered the equation for a moment.
"That's exactly why I needed to ask you. The things he says, the things he knows..." She stopped herself. "Do you remember how old he looked when he came into the study?"
Logan looked toward the ground and then back up at her again. "If I recall correctly, exacly the same. But I was nothing more than a child, my memory could be off." He shook his head again. "I don't believe any of this. This has to be one of his tricks. Even if what he says is true, and he truly did know our mother, than it would be documented somehow. All of her journeys as Hero were, either through witness accounts, a poetic edda, or even her own journals. If he is truly telling the truth, there will be evidence of it. Unfortunately I'm not sure where her personal accounts were sent after her passing. I'm sure there's still a few in the castle, and others have probably landed in the Brightwall Academy or other benefactors of learning." He rubbed his temples. "I'm sure it's all a lie, as it usually is with him, but I guess it could be worth looking into. You would do well to check with the castle librarian. He has an account on any book that has ever graced the shelves of the royal library."
Seraphina nodded, making a mental note to make a trip to the library quarters when she returned home.
"There has always been something off about him, but I suppose I've never thought too deeply into it. I couldn't, seeing as I put the man in charge. But this... this is deeper than I imagined." He was interrupted by a large drop of rain hitting him square in the face. It had been drizzling lightly since the couple had stepped outside, but it seemed the storm was stirring and beginning to break. The black sky thundered above them, a premonition of the coming tempest. "We had best be heading back in. It won't be long before this storm breaks and Reaver sends a squadron of his minions to search for us."
Seraphina nodded again, taking his arm in hers as he escorted her back to the manor. Logan didn't quite appear to be as shifty eyed as he was before, but his sense of suspicion hadn't entirely worn off as he would stare down any servant unfortunate enough to cross his path. She rolled her eyes, punching him lightly in the arm as he scared off a squeamish young gardener.
The pair made their way silently back into the parlor of the estate only to find Reaver waiting patiently for them. A look of intense dismay came over Logan's face and Seraphina shifted nervously as he strolled casually over toward them.
"Ah yes, have we quite finished our little adventure?" Reaver's voice was pleasant as he smiled cheerfully at the siblings. Logan nodded stiffly in return, subconsciously tugging his sister in the opposite direction, cautious of Reaver's overly cheerful demeanor. "Splendid, absolutely splendid. However, I have some unfortunate news for our Queen." He turned toward Seraphina. "It seems that the oncoming storm has spooked your steed. In his fit of rage, he managed to injure himself. It appears that you will not be traveling anywhere tonight." He ended his sentence with a foreboding smile.
"Injured himself? Is he alright?" Her thoughts turned toward the black stallion she had used for her journey. He was a strong and capable mount, and the horsemaster would be none too pleased if she had wounded him on her first ride with him, especially if he wasn't even in her care at the time.
"Oh yes, he's quite alright. A rather menial affliction, nothing but a sprained fetlock. Yet it will keep him off his hooves for the rest of the week none the less." He dismissed her concern casually.
"Well I trust you have a spare mount I could use for the journey home?" Her voice was stern again.
"I'm afraid not, my dear. Storms seem to have terrible effects on animals, you see, and my stock is quite unnerved right now. None of them shall do you any good on this particular night." His smile creeped even wider.
"It's fine. The journey back to Bowerstone Castle isn't a horribly long walk. I can manage." She stood her ground, staring down Reaver. Thunder cracked sinisterly outside the walls, sending a flash of bright light throughout the halls.
"Oh, absolutely not! This storm is shaping to be an absolute downpour. I simply cannot allow the Queen to be prouncing about in it. It's simply not safe." He stared her down through his amber eyes, sending a chill down her spine and disapating her willpower. Logan seemed to catch wind of this, and stepped in.
"She will be staying in my chambers." Logan's voice was firm and unbridled.
"Oh, nonsense!" Reaver waved away the notion. "I believe that it is traditional for the Queen of Albion to have the finest room in the house. I assure you that she shall be very well taken care of." He turned his unyielding stare to Logan and the two bore into each other with intensity so feverent it could be felt throughout the manner. Logan was radiating hatred, and seemed to be bordering on battle stance. It was Reaver who finally broke the tension, chuckling playfully although a slight malevolent edge could be heard as well.
"I assure you, I can be a rather accomadating host. You have nothing to fear, my friends."